The resentment in his heart finally vented, Gu Yuan finally calmed down.
Seeing the corpse on the ground, especially the bloody, mutilated wounds, a wave of nausea belatedly surged within him, and his stomach began to churn.
He dry heaved a few times before he started to feel a bit better.
But at the same time, Gu Yuan also felt a long-lost sense of relief and a moment of clarity emerged.
Whoever won't let me live, I'll make sure they die!
...
As the sun set in the west, the day gradually ended.
Gu Yuan tidied up the aftermath, ensuring nothing was left behind, then headed straight for the city gates after leaving the alley, rushing home.
After dark, the city gates would close, and if he didn't leave the city by then, it would be too late.
With the Iron Teeth Talent empowering him, Gu Yuan was strong and healthy, and despite rushing all the way home without stopping, he was only slightly fatigued.
However, upon pushing the door open, he was met with a scene of chaos in his house.
The bed was covered in dust, and the tables and chairs were toppled all over.
The iron pot was flung off the stove and overturned onto the ground.
Even the rice jar was smashed to pieces!
Scattered grains of rice were strewn across the floor.
Gu's mother, frail and thin, was sitting by the bed, sobbing with red and swollen eyes.
Gu's father, comforting her on the side, had a face that was red and swollen, bearing the mark of a slap, and there was a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Ah Yuan, you're back."
Seeing Gu Yuan return, Gu's father first sighed with relief, then turned his face away, seemingly unwilling to show his son his embarrassed state.
Gu's mother quickly put her emotions in order, wiping away her tears.
"Dad, Mom, what happened?"
Seeing all this, Gu Yuan's face immediately darkened.
"Alas, Ah Yuan, this afternoon, Dong Gui and Sun Er came by..."
Knowing he couldn't hide the matter, Gu's father straightforwardly recounted the events of the afternoon.
It turned out that this afternoon, Dong Gui and Sun Er had come by, claiming to be on orders from Steward Wu, saying they suspected Gu Yuan had intentions of retaliating against the Young Master of Qian Mansion, Qian Yunjie, and proceeded to search the house for evidence.
But even if Gu Yuan harbored thoughts of revenge, it was only in his mind, how could those two possibly find any evidence? Naturally, they found nothing.
So Dong Gui and Sun Er questioned the old couple about where Gu Yuan was, and what shady activities he had been up to lately.
After getting nothing from their inquiries, and seeing that Gu Yuan had not returned, they impatiently left a threatening message and swaggered off.
"Dong Gui, Sun Er..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan's expression turned cold, indignant beyond restraint!
He knew these two were no good, but he hadn't expected them to be this rotten.
To act as informants and spies was one thing, but to come and bully the family, smashing the rice jar, hitting people, and slinging mud, this was pushing a family towards doom!
However, the reason these two dared to come and bully the family was clearly because they sensed something was amiss with him, so they came to probe.
"Dad, Mom, stay home and take care of yourselves; don't worry, I'll be back soon!"
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Gu Yuan said this and then turned and left the house.
Yes, I can't afford to provoke the Qian Mansion, so I can only temporarily swallow my pride and endure.
But if I can't provoke the Qian Mansion, does that mean I can't take on you two wretched scumbags?!
Just some lackeys relying on others, and you really think you are something?
...
At Gu Family Village, on the west side of the village entrance, within a dilapidated courtyard came the faint sound of drinking and chatting.
Dong Gui and Sun Er were exchanging toasts, talking and laughing, the atmosphere rather lively.
Suddenly, Sun Er spoke:
"Gui, if what we did today gets found out by Steward Wu, will we be blamed for meddling, and if this brat Gu Yuan comes to trouble us..."
"Ha, I wish that brat would come trouble us! To tell you the truth, I did today's deed on purpose! Even if he's innocent, I must throw dirt on him to make him squirm! Think about it, if he doesn't stir things up, how can we show our worth?"
Dong Gui sneered coldly, seeing Sun Er's puzzled look, he explained:
"Sun Er, you should know, we people, we appear formidable on the surface, but in truth, we're just lowlifes, despised like rabid dogs. Do those landlords or gentry ever acknowledge us? If it keeps on like this, we'll end up dead on the streets without a decent end."
"But things are different now, because of this Gu Yuan situation, we're associated with the Qian Mansion in the county, if we do our jobs well, getting noticed by people from Qian Mansion, we might improve our standing, even as lackeys, it would be much better than crooks on the street!"
Sun Er realized, showing admiration, he couldn't help but give a thumbs up:
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! I didn't expect you, Gui, to think so far ahead, so thoroughly, I'm truly impressed!"
Looking at Dong Gui in front of him, in his tipsy state, Sun Er felt a surge of pride, as if he saw the two of them gaining recognition from Qian Mansion and striding across Beiliang County.
"Come, let me toast you!"
"Sure, drink..."
Just when the two were getting drunk and boisterous.
Bam!
The door was kicked open with such force that it slammed against the wall, making quite a sound, then with a crash, the already flimsy wooden door fell apart on the ground.
"Who is it!"
The two were startled, turning their heads to see a tall, sturdy, and handsome young man standing at the door.
"Gu Yuan, it's you!"
Dong Gui's brow furrowed.
"Oh, the two of you are drinking, I see?"
Gu Yuan glanced around, smirking.
Seeing a bowl of leftover wild rabbit meat on the table, the fire in Gu Yuan's heart flared even higher.
That was clearly the rabbit he caught two days ago, which he planned to smoke dry, intending to eat slowly later, but it ended up being stolen by these two dogs.
He sneered: "This stolen rabbit meat must taste quite delicious, huh?"
Bam!
"You little punk, what are you saying?!"
Sun Er, intoxicated, glared, slamming the table: "Who gave you the guts to come here and cause trouble!"
Gu Yuan glanced at him and ignored him, treating this drunken fool as nothing more than air.
"Gu Yuan, you've come at a good time, I won't hide it, the two of us are following Qian Mansion's Steward Wu's orders to watch you, lest you become desperate and make more trouble for Young Master Qian."
Dong Gui ignored the sarcasm in Gu Yuan's words and calmly said, eyeing Gu Yuan:
"Originally, if you stayed honest, it would have been fine, you good, me good, everyone peacefully coexisting."
Dong Gui sneered: "But these days you haven't been honest, strutting around with that glowing face and being all mysterious, I guess you're up to shady business, plotting revenge on Young Master Qian, right? Let me tell you, if you want to keep living, you better confess everything, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Don't think I'm bluffing, believe it or not, if I report this to Steward Wu, people from the county will come to arrest you first thing tomorrow!"
Saying this with a stern voice and a fierce demeanor!
In his view, the countryside was full of simpletons, and to him, Gu Yuan was just a naive brat, ignorant and unaware of the real world, sure to panic and lose his wits after being threatened like this.